


Promises to Keep

by KatScratches



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-05
Updated: 2013-08-05
Packaged: 2017-12-22 12:41:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/913338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatScratches/pseuds/KatScratches
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-series AU. Sirius is having nightmares again. Remus wants to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Promises to Keep

**Author's Note:**

> Not a new fic, sorry. I've been transferring from my LJ. If you've not read it before, enjoy! :)

The only real drawback to sharing his bed with Sirius, Remus decided, was the inordinate amount of dog hair in the sheets.

"If only you'd just stay human," he said peevishly, "I wouldn't have to do this every bloody morning." With an irritated sigh, Remus whisked his wand through the air above the rumpled sheets, which immediately straightened and retucked themselves as the stray dog hairs were magicked away.

"Handy spell, that," Remus commented dryly, casting a glance towards the huge black dog curled up in the corner, "especially with you around."

The dog simply yawned at him.

"I know you're ignoring me," Remus said. Tucking his wand into his robes, he knelt beside the dog, scratching fondly behind its ears. "Just tell me why, Pads, hm?"

The dog yawned again, resting its head on its forepaws.

Remus stood up. "This is getting nowhere," he said, and the dog woofed softly in agreement.

~ ~ ~

Harry was waiting for him in the kitchen. He was sitting at the table, sock-clad feet propped up on one corner of it, leafing through a rather dog-eared Quidditch magazine. A large glass of pumpkin juice rested on the table in front of him, and he occasionally sipped from it.

"Well," smiled Remus, "you look comfortable."

Harry grinned sheepishly, moving his feet off the table. "Sorry," he said. "How's Sirius this morning?"

Remus shook his head. "No different," he sighed. "He goes to sleep human, but when I wake up…"

"…he's a dog again," Harry finished.

"Exactly," Remus said grimly.

~ ~ ~

Sirius didn't come downstairs until well after lunch.

Remus, a tad disgruntled at being alone in the huge, gloomy house on Grimmauld Place, had eventually made himself a sandwich but only managed to eat half of it. Harry, he thought wryly, would have eaten it all and another besides. But Harry had gone off with Ron to Diagon Alley, ostensibly to buy Ginny a new broomstick for her upcoming eighteenth birthday. Remus strongly suspected they were also out laying up a stock of firewhisky and butterbeer for the party as well.

_Those boys would have made good Marauders,_ Remus thought with a smile, settling himself on the drawing room couch, cup of tea and Daily Prophet in hand. _Nineteen already. Hard to believe._ He shook his head at that; he remembered being nineteen himself, he and Sirius and James, ready to take on the world… He set his tea down on the end table, and unfolded the newspaper with a small, but audible, sigh.

"Everything all right?"

Remus' head snapped up at the throaty voice. Sirius was casually leaning against the doorframe, shirtless and barefoot, his black hair tousled from sleep.

"Getting maudlin in my old age," Remus said, patting the couch next to him. "I've missed you this morning."

Sirius padded over to the couch, yawning. He wrinkled his nose at the sight of Remus' teacup on the end table. "Honestly, is that all you bloody drink?" he scoffed, settling himself under Remus' outstretched arm. "You'll give us Brits a bad name." He twisted in his seat so he could nuzzle into Remus' collarbone, grinning to himself at Remus' sharp intake of breath.

"Put that down," Sirius murmured, swatting blindly at the Daily Prophet Remus still held loosely in one hand. Remus obliged, also setting aside his reading glasses. 

"Sirius…" Remus began.

"Shush," Sirius said, twisting again till he was straddling Remus on the worn couch. Slowly his tongue began tracing a path up the side of Remus' throat, soft nibbles against the line of his jaw until their lips finally met, pressing hot and insistent against each other.

Sirius drew Remus' lower lip into his mouth, sucking on it languorously as he felt Remus relaxing beneath him. He let his tongue delve into Remus' mouth, exploring, tasting. Loving the way Remus always tasted of tea and of honey.

Remus pulled back abruptly, breaking the kiss just long enough to gasp Sirius' name.

"I said shush," Sirius murmured, gazing intently into Remus' wide amber eyes. He cupped Remus' face in his hands, broad thumbs running gently over Remus' cheekbones. Hungrily he dove back into Remus' mouth, savouring the way Remus arched into him as their tongues met. He could feel the telltale bulge of Remus' half-hard cock through the other man's robes.

"Off," Sirius said into Remus' mouth, tugging at the clasp of his robes for emphasis.

Remus pulled back, gazing into Sirius' eyes. "I wanted to talk to you," he said, drawing his breath in sharply as Sirius' erection rubbed against his own.

"Sex first; talk later," Sirius insisted, finally wrestling open the clasp of Remus' robes, noting appreciatively that Remus wore nothing but thin trousers underneath. Crawling off his lover's lap, he began to undo Remus' belt. "Off with these too, Moony," he said. "You wear far too many clothes."

"I was cold," Remus said, smiling. He obligingly lifted his hips so that Sirius could tug his trousers and underpants down and off. 

Sirius tossed the clothes aside, nuzzling into Remus' thigh. "I'll keep you warm." He burrowed his nose, puppy-like, into the juncture of Remus' hip. With one hand he cupped Remus' balls, massaging lightly as Remus let out a muffled groan.

Slowly he drew his outstretched finger along the underside of Remus' cock, which was fully erect now, dragging his fingertips through the drops of precome leaking from the head. He glanced up, knowing full well Remus was watching him, then brought his moistened fingers to his mouth and sucked.

"Bloody tease," Remus growled.

Sirius just grinned, bending his head to engulf Remus' cock with the wet heat of his mouth, swirling his tongue around the sensitive head. He dragged his teeth lightly along the shaft, not nearly enough to hurt, as he drew Remus deeper into his mouth.

Abruptly Sirius pulled back. "Still watching?" he said. "Good." He made to continue, but Remus eased him backwards onto the thick rug.

"On your back," Remus said hoarsely. " _Now_."

Hurriedly Sirius wriggled out of his own trousers, his own leaking cock springing free, and lay back on the rug. Lazily he stroked himself, his legs naturally splaying apart as Remus knelt between them. He moaned softly as Remus removed his hand, replacing it with his own.

Slicking his fingers well with Sirius' precome, Remus slid his fingers down to Sirius' arse, deftly sliding one, then a second, into the tight hole. As Remus angled his fingers up, they brushed against Sirius' prostate, causing the other man to thrust down onto his lover's hand, a slight whine escaping his throat.

"I love watching you like this," Remus murmured, gently fisting himself with his free hand, "all spread out and wanton."

"Please, Remus," Sirius groaned.

Remus narrowed his eyes, removing his hand and positioning the head of his cock against Sirius' arse. "Please what?"

"Please fuck me, please fuck me, please," Sirius chanted.

Remus thrust in, burying himself deep within Sirius, who arched up against him, fisting himself in time to Remus' rhythm. He leaned down to nip at one of Sirius' nipples, worrying it between his teeth, gasping as Sirius ran sharp nails down his back.

"You feel too good, Moony," Sirius rasped, his strokes becoming more frenetic. "Can't last… I…" He shuddered, his seed spurting out of him, looping in sticky trails across his belly. A moment later Remus gasped out Sirius' name, spilling hotly inside him, and collapsed, trembling with the throes of his climax, atop the other man.

When they'd both caught their breath, Remus said, "Going to tell me yet?"

"Tell you what?" Sirius asked, bewildered.

"You know," sighed Remus, rummaging for his wand to cast cleaning charms on them both. "The dog thing."

Sirius looked uncomfortably away, pulling on his trousers. He muttered something under his breath.

"Sirius…" Remus began, laying a hand on Sirius' arm. He was shocked to find the other man trembling.

Sirius shook off Remus' hand. "It's stupid, I said," he muttered again, louder this time, throwing himself down on the couch. "It doesn't matter."

Remus regarded him as he pulled his own trousers back on. "It matters to me," he said quietly. He sat down on the edge of the couch, taking Sirius' hands in his own, noting how the usually trimmed nails were bitten and ragged. "It matters a _lot_."

"It's stupid, really." Sirius tried to laugh, tossing his hair brusquely out of his eyes. "I'm just having nightmares again. I don't want to wake you," he confessed, "and as a dog… Well, I don't dream like that as a dog. Don't ask me any more, alright?"

Remus put his arm around Sirius' shoulders, drawing the other man close, pressing a gentle kiss to Sirius' temple. Through the open drawing-room door, voices wafted in from the front hall. _Harry and Ron_ , Remus realized. 

He pressed another kiss to Sirius' temple. "Alright," he agreed. "For now.

~ ~ ~

Ron stayed for supper, he and Harry regaling the two older men with tales of their afternoon in Diagon Alley. They'd bought ice creams at Florian Fortescue's for a pair of giggling young witches who, it turned out, were only mildly impressed to find out that, yes, Harry was _that_ Harry Potter. Pleased by her lack of fawning over his notoriety, Harry had asked her out for a proper date the following weekend. She'd happily agreed.

"Going to double with Ron," Harry informed them, pushing back his chair and carrying his empty plate over to the sink. "Turns out her friend's got quite a fancy for redheads."

"Well," said Ron, scooping up his last spoonful of the excellent chocolate mousse Remus had made, "lucky for her I've got a weakness for cute witches who fancy redheads." He wiped a smudge of chocolate off his mouth with his napkin, eyeing the clock. "Brilliant supper, men. Sorry to eat and run, but I promised Mum I'd be back early to help her out a bit with Gin's party. She'll go spare if I'm much later."

"It's alright," Sirius laughed. "We're all too familiar with that."

"You are, you mean," Remus said, poking Sirius playfully with his fork. "I always got on well with her."

~ ~ ~

When Remus awoke the next morning, there were more dog hairs on the pillow, and Sirius, in his dog form, was crouched in the corner, tail between his legs.

"This has to stop, Padfoot," Remus said.

~ ~ ~

Ginny loved the new broom, immediately throwing a leg over it and taking it for an experimental spin around the Weasley's back garden.

Sirius whistled low under his breath when he saw it. "Wow, Harry, a 700 Series Lightning? That's pretty impressive."

Harry took a swig of his Butterbeer. "She deserves it. Didn't you hear, then? Wimbourne wants her as Chaser."

"That's fantastic news," Sirius said, watching as Ginny dive-bombed her brother Bill in a perfectly executed Wronski Feint. "Molly and Arthur must be thrilled. What was she when they all stayed that year at Grimmauld Place, Remus? Fifteen?" He slung an arm around Remus who'd come to stand beside him.

"Fourteen, actually," Remus said.

"Merlin, time flies." Sirius drained the rest of his own Butterbeer, his eyes never leaving Ginny as she spiraled the broom gracefully back to the ground.

~ ~ ~

He woke up gasping for breath, drenched in cold sweat, Remus' name on his lips.

" _Lumos_."

Sirius jumped, badly startled, at the sound of Remus' quiet voice. "Shit, Remus," he whispered. "I woke you after all." 

Remus shook his head. "It's not that late, actually. I've been waiting up. Now tell me."

"No."

" _Tell_ me, Pads."

Sirius ran a hand through his sweat-damp hair. "I dream about the Veil," he said finally. "Only in the dream… it's you that falls through it." He let out a long, shuddering sigh. "Or Harry. Sometimes it's Harry, but mostly it's you."

Remus said nothing, but wound his fingers through Sirius'.

"D'you remember when I came back?" Sirius continued.

Remus did. Three years to the day after he'd fallen through the Veil, Sirius had somehow stumbled back out. He'd been found wandering through the Department of Mysteries, thoroughly confused, and not looking so much as a moment older than when Remus had lost him.

"I couldn't figure out where the battle had gone, or where everyone was," Sirius said, his breath hitching a little. "Where _you_ were. It seemed truly like no time had passed. Except, of course, that it had." He uttered a sharp, bark-like laugh.

"And then," he said, choking back a tear, "in the dream, it's you that falls through, only you never come out again." His constraint broke then, and he leaned into Remus' comforting embrace, weeping openly. "I couldn't stand to lose you, Moony," he sobbed brokenly. "Not like that, not ever."

Remus tightened his grip around Sirius' shoulders, one hand rubbing the small of Sirius' back in slow circles. "I'm not leaving you, Pads," he soothed.

"But you don't _know_ that!" Sirius burst out. "You can't know that or promise that or… or… or _anything!_ "

"No," Remus said quietly. "I can't promise that, and I won't."

"You're not helping," sniffled Sirius, swiping at his leaking nose with one hand.

"That's completely disgusting, Sirius," said Remus, reaching for a box on the nightstand. "Use a tissue."

Sirius took the proffered tissue and blew his nose. When he was done, Remus pushed him gently back down into the pillows. 

"Listen to me, you great silly git," Remus said, snuggling in next to Sirius and pulling up the blankets. "I love you. Of course no one knows the future; that's why no one takes Divination seriously in school. But wherever you go, you carry a piece of me in your heart. I've loved you for as long as I can remember, and no bloody rag hanging off an old arch is going to change that." He paused to plant a kiss on Sirius' tear-stained cheek. "And if I wake up to find dog hair in this bed, I'm going to thrash you soundly."

"Might like that," Sirius answered, closing his eyes.

~ ~ ~

When Remus awoke the next morning, the sun was already streaming in through the threadbare curtains. Sirius' arm was draped possessively across Remus' waist, and there wasn't a dog hair in sight. 


End file.
